The present Invention relates to a new and distinct cultivar of Dahlia plant, botanically known as Dahlia hybrida and hereinafter referred to by the name xe2x80x98Melody Dixiexe2x80x99.
The new Dahlia is a product of a planned breeding program conducted by the Inventor in Lisse, The Netherlands. The objective of the breeding program is to create new Dahlia cultivars with uniform growth habit, decorative inflorescence form, attractive ray floret colors, and good inflorescence longevity.
The new Dahlia originated from a cross pollination made by the Inventor in 1997 of the two unidentified Dahlia hybrida selections, not patented. The new Dahlia was discovered and selected by the Inventor as a single flowering plant within the progeny of the stated cross grown in a controlled environment in Lisse, The Netherlands, in 1997. The selection of this plant was based on its uniform plant habit and attractive ray floret coloration.
Asexual reproduction of the new Dahlia by cuttings was first conducted in Lisse, The Netherlands. Asexual reproduction by cuttings has shown that the unique features of this new Dahlia are stable and reproduced true to type in successive generations.
The cultivar Melody Dixie has not been observed under all possible environmental conditions. The phenotype may vary somewhat with variations in environment such as temperature, daylength, light intensity, water and nutritional status without, however, any variance in genotype.
The following traits have been repeatedly observed and are determined to be the unique characteristics of xe2x80x98Melody Dixiexe2x80x99. These characteristics in combination distinguish xe2x80x98Melody Dixiexe2x80x99 as a new and distinct Dahlia:
1. Upright, somewhat outwardly spreading and uniform plant habit.
2. Freely branching habit, full and dense plants.
3. Dark green foliage.
4. Freely flowering habit.
5. Decorative inflorescence form with inflorescences positioned above the foliage.
6. Light and dark purple bi-colored ray florets.
7. Excellent garden performance.
Plants of the new Dahlia differ primarily from plants of the parent selections in ray floret coloration.
Plants of the new Dahlia can be compared to plants of the Dahlia cultivar Oriental Dream, not patented. In side-by-side comparisons conducted by the Inventor in Lisse, The Netherlands, plants of the new Dahlia were more compact, had more ray florets per inflorescence, and had lighter purple-colored ray floret apices than plants of the cultivar Oriental Dream.